Chapter 2 - What Anna Hid)
Leo stood barefoot in the hallway outside the library.
His glass of water was forgotten in his hand.
Inside, Preston spoke again.
"You told me it wasn't there."
"I said I couldn't confirm it," Lucinda replied.
"You watched her put something inside."
"I saw Anna near the vase. That's all."
"Then why are we doing this?"
"Because she told me once that the safest hiding place was something nobody would dare destroy."
Leo felt cold.
His mother had said things like that.
She had loved puzzles.
When Leo was little, Anna Caradonna had hidden birthday clues around the mansion.
A ribbon beneath a piano bench.
A photograph behind a book.
A key taped beneath a garden statue.
Leo remembered almost none of the prizes.
He remembered searching with her.
He remembered her laughter.
He remembered how, during the last year of her life, she stopped laughing as often.
Cancer had taken her slowly.
The adults told Leo that his mother was tired.
Nobody told him why she spent so many nights in Sebastian's office after everyone else went to sleep.
Nobody explained why she had argued with Lucinda two weeks before entering the hospital for the final time.
Leo edged closer to the door.
Preston's voice became lower.
"The vase is coming out tomorrow. We remove whatever she hid before the wedding."
"And if there's nothing inside?"
"Then we stop worrying."
"And if there is?"
A pause.
Preston answered.
"Sebastian never sees it."
Leo backed away.
The floorboard beneath him creaked.
Conversation stopped.
He ran.
By the time Preston opened the library door, the hallway was empty.
Leo did not go directly to his father.
That decision would bother him later.
Instead, he went to Elisa.
He found her in the upstairs sitting room surrounded by seating charts.
She looked up when he entered.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
"Leo."
He hesitated.
"Did you know my mom hid something?"
Elisa put down her pen.
"Hidden where?"
"I don't know."
"Who told you that?"
"Nobody."
She waited.
Leo looked toward the door.
"I heard Preston and Lucinda talking."
Elisa's expression changed.
"What did they say?"
He repeated everything.
When he finished, Elisa remained silent for several seconds.
"You're sure they said Anna?"
"Yes."
"And the vase?"
"Yes."
Elisa stood.
"We need to tell your dad."
Leo grabbed her wrist.
"No."
"Leo."
"What if it's nothing?"
"Then it's nothing."
"What if Dad gets angry because I was listening?"
"He won't."
"You don't know that."
Elisa looked at him.
The fear in his eyes was not about punishment.
It was about disappointment.
Sebastian loved his son.
There was no question.
But love and attention were not always the same thing.
After Anna died, Sebastian had thrown himself into work.
He attended Leo's school events.
He remembered birthdays.
He hired the best teachers.
He made sure the boy had everything.
But grief had created a distance neither father nor son knew how to cross.
Elisa had spent two years watching them circle that distance.
She crouched in front of Leo.
"Your father would rather know something uncomfortable than have you carry it alone."
Leo whispered, "You promise?"
"I promise."
They found Sebastian in his office.
He was on a call with New York.
Elisa entered without knocking.
He frowned, then saw Leo's face.
"I'll call you back."
He ended the call.
"What happened?"
Leo told him.
Sebastian listened without interrupting.
When the boy finished, he leaned back.
"Preston said your mother hid something?"
Leo nodded.
"In the vase?"
"Maybe."
Sebastian looked at Elisa.
She said, "I noticed the base looks modified."
He stood.
"Why didn't you mention that?"
"I didn't know it mattered."
Sebastian walked toward the window.
For the first time that evening, uncertainty crossed his face.
"Anna never told me anything about the vase."
Leo asked, "Did she tell you about Preston?"
"No."
"Lucinda?"
"No."
"Then why were they talking about her?"
Sebastian had no answer.
The next morning, he ordered the vase transport canceled.
At 8:14 a.m., Lucinda entered his office without knocking.
"You canceled the move."
"Yes."
"Why?"
"I changed my mind."
"The wedding is in five days."
"The ballroom will survive without a vase."
Lucinda stared at him.
Then she smiled.
It was the wrong smile.
Too quick.
Too controlled.
"Of course."
She turned toward the door.
Sebastian spoke.
"Lucinda."
She stopped.
"Did Anna ever talk to you about that vase?"
Lucinda did not turn around.
"No."
"You're sure?"
"Your wife was dying, Sebastian. We talked about many things."
"That wasn't my question."
Lucinda finally looked back.
"No."
Then she left.
Sebastian waited until the door closed.
He called the head of security.
"Nobody touches the vase."
That afternoon, the security system in the north gallery failed for eleven minutes.
When the cameras returned, the vase had not moved.
May you like
But the cabinet beside it was open.
And one page was missing from the family inventory ledger.
